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Hangola June 18 - 20, 2004

Flight Reports

I went by Pulpit today on my way to Kirshners Knob. Conditions were perfect. There was a glass-off when I returned about 6:30pm. A little too strong for PG, but perfect for HG.

Kirshners was nice. Grass is cut.

'Spark

Pulpit at noon was straight in at about 12 on the left ramp. Big black cloud right over launch.

A light shower on the way to Kirshners. Kirshners was 90 cross with occasional light and straight in. Second flight felt like AWCL. Coming straight in 10-15, a little gusty. Landing was comparable to a rowdy approach mid-day Pulpit. I guess we weren't too far away from there anyway. Glider is dusted off. Guess my last flying was at mudburg.

Back to the Pulpit at 3.
Puffy Cummies popping everywhere. I can not remember Brians quote about the conditions but it was something like "epic, where is everyone?, we could be halfway to HR before you zip up!"

joe (It was either that or freight trains rolling from the north at 20-25)

Ellis and I flew paragliders at the Pulpit today along with a visiting pilot from Kazakhstan named John. Joe, Carlos, and Alek were there with wings assembled and ready.

Winds were light - Joe, Carlos, and Alek flew to the secondary LZ (btw - the primary is virtually unlandable due to crop, whereas the secondary has been recently cut) My first flight was a sled-ride down to the PG bail-out LZ - the hay was rtecently cut.

Ellis drove down to retrieve me, then she and John flew.

Steve Krichton and Don arrived and set up their HGs. Steve reported that the hay in the High Rock LZ is HIGH.

I was prepared to drive down to pick up Ellis and John, but Joe offered to do it instead ... so ... I thought ... I'll guess I'll just take another sled ride and catch a quick ride back up. I laid the wing out and the wind died : (

20 minutes of waiting and finally, I got enough wind to launch. A few turns later I headed out to the LZ.

On the way, I finally find some nice lift - 200fpm ... in a few turns it is 400, then 600 ... before long the launch is looking pretty small and I'm seeing 900fpm. I look above me and see a small cu has formed right above me and I climb up to it at around 6200 msl. Go figure ... my phone and my radio are in the car, and I'm wearing a tee shirt and short pants! My fingers are numb and I'm shivering - with a big grin - lips frozen to my teeth. About an hour later, I landed just west of Greencastle, PA. My first PG XC. Many thanks to Ellis for cutting her second flight short just to come retrieve me.

I heard that Steve went over the back too - not sure where.

Pulpit photos at - http://community.webshots.com/album/154706146rkYtbm

Photos from Saturday at Woodstock - http://community.webshots.com/album/154697496GGfPHL

Photos from Friday at Kirshners Knob - http://community.webshots.com/album/154694468IuIlnv

'Spark

Nice day, thanks to Steve Kinsley, who left just as it started to clear up with the understanding that his departure would give us great flying conditions. On arrival at launch Christy and I heard that a PG pilot had blown his launch and ended up with a pretty badly broken arm. I watched for a while not expecting to fly, (the winds were way too strong for me), then after most of the other pilots were in the air, things began to calm down. I launched fairly late in the day, and boated around in ridge lift for a little over an hour.

Thank you Steve!!
Thanks also to the other Brian who observed for me.
Rich

Sparky wrote: My first PG XC. Many thanks to Ellis for cutting her second flight short just to come retrieve me.

Uh... those thanks are misplaced. I went for a second flight, got to 4200 msl, considered going over the back as well, only found profound sink, turned tail, went back out front. Bobbled around until there was no more lift and I had to land. So, thank the sink gods or right now we both would be out staggering around in the darkl, trying to get back to the Pulpit.

-- ellis
p.s. Sparky got to 6200+ and landed in Greencastle.

p.p.s. Oh, also thank Alek for arranging for John and I to get picked up after our last flights. It might have taken much longer for you to get retrieved, if we would have had to hike back up top.

Thanks Alek!

Also thanks to Joe Brauch who gave me a ride back up after my first flight. :-)

WOW! What a stellar day at MFP. I had limited time between church this morning and again this evening so I got there about noon (and I STILL beat Tim there). I guess Harriett can't go as fast as I thought. If you've never seen Tim's Harriett, then you are missing a real treat. At 54 years old, she's a real beauty, and she don't run bad either.

Many folks were already set up when I got there so I hurried to play catch up. The wind direction was very switchy therefore early truck tows didn't look too promising so I elected to aerotow. I wanted to try out the new tow point that Steve set up on the Pulse anyway. Nobody seemed to be too much in a hurry to launch so I took my place 3rd on the tug behind Greg DeWolf and Billy Vaughn. Bar pressure was still more than desirable so we'll be adjusting it next flight. Problem is these days is that I'm only getting one flight a week.

Well, Tex dropped me off at 1800. At 1600 I found the middle and worked the area up to 4270. I'm so inexperienced with this thermalling that I'm not so sure it was a single thermal or what. It seemed that I'd find different pockets at differen places. Some going up, some going down (I tried to avoid those), some just maintaining, but hey, if the overall result is altitude gain, then I'll take it. I've been reading all I can on how to center in the lift. Hey, some of it actually works. I spent the next 45 min back and forth between 2-3k. At one point I used a small newly forming cloud as a marker. Interesting how the closer I got, the more I sank, until I got right under it. Just like the books said.

As normal, I had started off upwind, but I never crossed the flight park. The drift was virtually non-existent. I spent most of my flight over on the other side of hwy 360. I don't know how many miles that is, does that count for an out and return? I doubt it since it wasn't declared. Besides, Tex dragged me out there. I was really getting the itch to go xc but I know that will come in time.

I got some good arial shots of Billy Vaughn in the Super Floater (FROM ABOVE! :o). I actually saw him over there so I meandered in that direction to see how the big boys fly. Billy, e-mail me and I'll get them to you.

In summary, I achieved 3 new PB's. Max alt. at the flight park of 4270, max alt. gain of 2670, and I even managed to get 2 minutes over last week's flight for a total of 94 minutes. I coulda stayed up longer but I had committments at church this evening. I got back to the flight park and was ready to come in but at 900 over the golf course, I just had to take one more ride up to 1700. The best part about that is that when you come down by choice, then you can do all kinds of FUN stuff and not worry about loosing your precious altitude. Crankin & bankin, WooooHoooo! When the air is good and I manage to be so fortunate to be at the right place at the right time, it's nice. I have to thank the Lord God for allowing me this fantastic view of His creation, it's a real joy.

Several others had very good flights as well (Holly was a spec in the sky) but I'll let them tell their own stories. Scott, tell me, did ya, did ya, did ya? I'm dying to see you take your next step (or at least hear about it) . Tim, how was your next tow? Tell all.

To all that were there, I wasn't trying to ignore anyone, I was just in a hurry with my limited schedule. It was good to see y'all. Next time I'll spend more time on the ground. ;-)

Rance

Be it known that after considerable effort and persistance, congratulations are in order on the event of Rance Rupp having been granted a Hang 3 rating. Having been signed off by Steve Wendt, it is obviously well earned and worth having.

Congratulations.

Brian V-H and I went over to Ralph's place Sunday and wired up our helmets and gliders for radio with PTT on the control bar. (In my case, this was merely transferring the mic and earphone and phone jack from my old crunched helmet to the one I've been flying with for a year.) We were both impressed with Ralph's many talents in electronics, physical geometry (the design of the connection through the apex of the control bar from the radio on the downtube), and his craftsmanship and attention-to-detail. Thanks a lot Ralph! Of course it was killing me to be on the ground on such a gorgeous day - but it would have been uncomfortable wiring up the gliders on a hot humid day. Brian and I got out to High Rock later, but it was light to the point of sleds and extendos for all present - and the grass is still quite high, so we elected not to fly. Spectacular view from the rock! - Hugh

Talked with emma jane after passing on flying. She says they are just itching to cut the grass, the problem is they need a guaruntee of at least 3 days with no rain. It has to dry out after cutting before it can be bailed. The guy who harvests it lost something like 100 acres a few weeks ago when the hay got rained on and rotted. Let's hope for a dry spell.

The grass of course can be landed in if A: you feel you can do a near perfect flair above the level of the grass so you don't end up running through it (though Kelvin pulled off a running landing) or B: you can do a running spot landing in the wack dip, all mashed down courtesy of Karen. Given my lack of currency and mindful of the sacrifices Karen had to go through to provide us a landing pad, I decided to pass and joined the crew pigging out at the Cozy.

Ralph's wiring scheme, by the way, provides crystal clear sound.

Brian Vant-Hull

Paul and spent 3 nights in the Ridgely area this week, but most of the time we searched for a place to live, since we need to be out of our farm by the 15th. However, Sunday dawned bright and cold, and I thought I should steal an hour of flying to try and maintain my sanity. I woke with a throbbing head, sore throat and runny nose, though, so I didn't even set up Ginny for a while. But conditions looked too good to skip. I emptied the Advil jar down my throat and threw on a turtleneck and jacket.

I have towed Ginny sans fin for the last few weeks, including in midday conditions, and had begun to think that I would never strap the fin back on again. I'm not sure if it was because I felt sick and was slow reacting, or whether it was just so rowdy, but the tow was ... challenging. Was very sorry the fin was stuffed under the truck seat and not holding Ginny straight. I survived, though, and made it to altitude.

Windsor dropped me away from the other pilots, because they had higher performance wings and she wasn't sure if I could make it back from their area. I almost instantly found lift but it felt difficult to core. I struggled between 2500 and 3000 feet for something like 20 minutes. I circled in everything from 0 sink to 300 fpm. But the higher I crept the stronger and fatter the lift became. After I passed 3500 I was golden. Or more accurately, frozen. I had sustained climbs from between 600 and 700 fpm, and quickly rose to around 5000 feet. I have never flown in this strong of lift in the flats.

Joined a gaggle under a small cloud that boiled and formed above us. I was torn between elation and discomfort. It was the day I had waited for, that the lift was incredible, that I could had attempted a beach flight. Unbelievably clear and beautiful.

But my nose dripped mucus onto my helmet the entire time, and in spite of the layers of clothing, I shivered uncontrollably. My ears throbbed. I tried to take my hands out of my gloves and put my fingers together inside of them, but it proved difficult. I kicked my feet around as I flew to generate heat, but after over an hour stinking high I figured I needed to at least drop down to 3000 or below and thaw.

I boated around aimlessly from point to point but continued to fly through enormous thermals, without any effort on my part to find them. I eventually sunk to a more hospitable altitude. I warmed up a bit but decided I certainly wasn't at the top of my game. Feeling like a loser, I landed. Worst landing in ages, ended up crosswind. I flared with my wings unlevel and spun in an entire circle before I stopped moving. Never touched the wing or control frame until after I stopped but it was close. Kinda interesting for the spectators, though, the little ballerina pirouette.

I can't wait to hear all the reports from the others, though. I think some kickass flights occurred. And I will have a chance later for some kind of epic flight (or at least a decent one), with any luck.

And congratulations to Rance!

Lauren Tjaden

Believe it or not, Oregon Ridge was really good all morning and part of the afternoon. Although the forecast was calling for NNW, we were getting everything from NW to ENE, and generally waiting for up cycles was not very long. All things considered, it was an excellent day out there!

Gary and Jim continued tuning their skills and getting comfortable with the site. Both did fantastic and are prepping for their first High Flights asap. Both pilots had to monitor their altitudes due to the fantastic lift encountered, and the LZ started getting smaller and smaller as the flights got higher and higher. LOL.

NOTE: The fencing will be up next week at the site. Although it can be laid down for flying, caution should be used when flying over it. Also.....it must always be put back up at the end of the day. Last one at the site is responsible for doing that.

Rich Hays

I left town on Friday a bit later than expected and with the traffic, I didn't arrive at HR until 6:00 pm. While there was overdevelopment in Fredrick to well to the south of HR, the Hagerstown valley was clear with no indication of unsettled weather. Winds were straight in at 10 to 15 and smooth. Plenty of vultures, crows, and hawks were cruising in the copious magic. Launch was deserted. After a while, wuffos began streaming in and I considered recruiting a few for crew but in a blink of an eye, out came the Bud Lite's and the knives. (This flock of wuff's seemed particularly weapons oriented.) It's amazing to me how much beer a 17 year old can consume in a short period of time.

I left at 7:00 to salvage the evening with a run back at the gliderport. Wind was still glass, valley was still clear, Bud Lite was still flowing.

Danny Brotto

BTW, speed bumps have been placed on the road up to launch. These features must be taken less than 25 mph or so or some serious vehicle jostling will occur.

Yeah. Let's hear from the beach crew. Sure thought I was golden. Pinned off at 15; two 360s and I was at 18. Topped out at about 5 and headed off after PK, Titone, Muldoon and I think others. Back to 5k near Denton. Went on glide. All the way to the deck. Never hit anything. Hard to believe. Think I must have gotten away from the lift line or something. Plus I thought it was a bullet proof day so I was flying fast and didn't even start looking until I was down to 2. 3mins after I landed I was assaulted by a succession of dust devils. Got a ride back and made it home in time for dinner.

Yep,... it was indeed a great day. Billy Vaughn bagged the flight of the day with a 3-hour flight on the super floater with a max altitude of 4800 ft AGL. Greg DeWolf logged 2 hours early in the day and did a tandem in the evening. (Tex did a couple tandems yesterday evening as well.) Rance and I both got 1-1/2 hour flights. Thanks to Tex for dropping me off in a big, fat thermal that took me up to about 4700ft AGL (I think I'm finally starting to wire into the Litesport <smile>). Josh and I flew together for much of the evening pimping off one another (it was so good to work together!). He logged about 1-1/3 hours for his best flight ever. I think he got up to about 3600? Jason also had an outstanding flight climbing up to about 3600-3700 and I think his flight was over an hour in duration as well.

AT was the way to go yesterday as I think truck tow folks only logged extendos and sleds. It seemed that you needed to be 2000+ to find workable lift.

Scott and I camped out Saturday night and had a great time hangin' out with everyone. There had to be at least 15 people hangin' out by the camp fire cookin', eatin', chattin', drinking, and playing music (guitars, singing, hand drums, and a hammer dulcimer rounded out the entertainment mix). Since it was blown out earlier on Saturday, Sandy and crew made the best of things by breaking out the arts and crafts... rubber stamps, beads, and white T-shirts resulting in quite a few custom T-shirts being produced:-)

Sunday morning started out pretty windy as well. Scott and I bailed at about 9:30 AM thinking it was going to be a while before things laid down enough to fly. We headed over to the James River for a quick paddle and then over to his folks for a quick Father's Day visit. By 1:30 PM, conditions were lookin' great, so we headed back over to Blue Sky. We didn't get back to the flight park until about 3 PM and I didn't launch until about 3:45 PM. I was pleasantly suprised to have gotten a good flight having launched as late in the day as I did!

Holly

WOOHOO! First high solo flight! And on Father's Day, no less! (Best Father's Day I've had in years.)

It's been almost a month since my last scooter tow lesson. I didn't realize when Steve Wendt said I'd graduated from the scooter, it was actually a condemnation! The past few weeks have been agonizing...several weekends of moping around the flight park, watching everyone else fly, and wishing the conditions would become favorable for my first flight.

Yesterday started out tough for me. It was a beautiful day, and everyone was specking out in the sky. After a few more hours of hanging around the pavilion trying to be sociable, I couldn't take it any more. I just didn't feel like I was "in the club." My mood darkened as I listened to pilot after pilot comparing flight times, altitudes, back-slapping each other, etc.

Futhermore, I began to worry a bit about a possible first truck tow. I've never been good at waiting. The more I sit around and wait, the more I think about what's to come...and the more psyched out I get. Not good.

It was around 3:30pm, and conditions were slowly improving, but still switchy and cross. Holly aerotowed up in her LiteSport. Tex dropped her off in a booming thermal and up she went! I was happy for her (even while still pouting for myself). Finally, with Holly just a microdot in the sky, I decided to get away for awhile. I put on my road biking gear and cycled out of the flight park.

As I pedaled along the country roads nearby, I kept glancing upward, keeping my eye on Holly's yellow wing, happy she was still going up, but still feeling mopey I couldn't be there with her. My afternoon hit a low point when I decided to explore a side road Holly and I had noticed on a previous ride but not taken. About a mile later, it tilted down a long grade. I flew to the bottom---and the road dead-ended in gravel! Crap. I turned around and gritted my teeth for the long uphill slog. Suddenly I heard the sound of snarling dogs---a couple mutts coming at me like cruise missiles. I was in my lowest gear, spinning slowly up the hill, about to lose my leg to ravenous beasts! Thankfully, the dogs were all bluff and no bite, and I escaped with my life.

Arriving back at the flight park I was amazed and psyched to see Holly was *still* just a yellow dot in the sky. (4200' and 90 minutes -- Yeah Holly!) I changed clothes, and, still not wanting to hang out with all the back-slappers in the pavilion, just moped in the back of the truck.

The evening wore on, and by 6pm, I started thinking my first flight might actually happen. I'd been disappointed enough times before not to get my hopes up though. Other people kept walking by and giving me encouraging remarks, like "Today is YOUR day Scott!" I tried to muster a smile but found it difficult.

Holly landed and was immediately encouraging. (I love you Holly!) She kept saying "It's really light now" and "I think it's going to happen!" A while later, not wanting me to jinx anything by asking Steve myself, Holly ran over to Steve in the truck and asked him if he thought I might fly. As I sat, still moping but more hopeful, Holly ran back over with "Steve says if you don't set up your glider you can't fly!" That lifted my spirits!

Holly, Bruce Engan and I ran over to the hangar and pulled out my Falcon. Holly and Bruce were great and helped me set up, which with the three of us on a Falcon took about 30 seconds. I did a thorough preflight, then carried the glider over near the tow road. I still didn't know for sure I was going to fly.

Holly (being the wonderful person she is) grabbed my brand-spankin' new, never-flown-in Z5 from the truck and got the tow bridle all set up. Then she attached the tow strap to my glider and I pulled on my harness. We did a hang check and everything looked perfect---one fist above the bar, very comfortable.

Ken Swingle, who had already done a few truck tows, was next in line. But he was a good friend and gentleman and said "I'm up next, but if Steve's ready for you it's all yours!" Before I knew it, Steve had arrived in the truck and Holly shouted "Bring your glider over to the truck." I replied, "Is that a direct order from The Man?" And Holly answered "Yep!" This was it! I was really going to do it!!!

The Falcon felt weightless as I lifted it and scurried over to the truck. We lifted it into place, Steve attached the strap and checked my angle of attack. By this time a small crowd had gathered around the truck, smiling and offering enthusiastic words. Someone said "can we hang here while you guys get ready?" and Steve replied "No---you guys are too distracting---we're going over there so we can be alone." Good call Steve.

I climbed onto the truck and we drove to an empty corner of the field, where Steve methodically went through the process of explaining how everything would work. He showed me how to attach the bridle. We did a test release from the truck, just so I could feel the pressure in the finger ring. While Steve was talking, I focused on every word until a rabbit hopped onto the field right behind Steve and just sat there. For the next minute, I kept looking back and forth from Steve to the rabbit to Steve again. I think Steve noticed my strange glances, turned around, and said "Oh, look at that rabbit!" I laughed.

Finally we were all set. I felt a low-grade buzz inside, part nervousness, part excitement. Questions flashed through my mind: what will the release feel like? What if I start yawing or get into a turn? Will I be able to land in this Z5?

Just before we headed down the tow road, I did one last preflight checklist. At that point, Steve said "You're ready for this Scott, or you wouldn't be here." Those simple words meant a lot to me, and my nervousness ebbed into concentration. I said "Okay---go to cruise!" and we were off!

From my prone position on the back of the truck, it felt like we were flying down the tow road (even though we weren't even at 30mph). I waited for the horn---Steve's signal to release. Suddenly, there it was: BEEEP! Without even thinking, I pulled the ring and BOOM! I was rocketing upward. During his preflight talk, Steve said "It's just like a really big scooter tow." I was happy to see he was right---the tow up felt smooth as silk, and I barely made any corrections at all.

The first 100 feet went by in a hurry. The road and the truck shrank into the distance, and the noise diminished until all I heard was the wind. I reminded myself to relax, let my elbows drop to my sides, and loosened my grip on the bar. I let the bar out to trim, then pulled in a bit and tried to maintain that position. Occasionally I made a small bump correction. It was a beautiful evening, and I noticed a deer trapped by the high corn along the tow road running away from Steve.

Higher and higher I climbed. The enormity of it was almost lost as I just watched, as if I were in an IMAX movie, except I felt the cool wind rushing around me. The tow was effortless. As Steve neared the end of the road, I glanced down to be sure I knew where the release line was. A bit further, and as Steve drove around a puddle near the end, I slid my hands toward the center of the bar in preparation for release. Then, around 700 feet, with one last quick glance at the release line, I pulled in for speed and gave the line a tug.

There was a gentle "foomp" as I released, and then the "flap!" of the towline chute opening beneath me as it drifted away. I felt the glider slow a bit, then gently nose down and pick up speed. The IMAX movie effect was in full force. I was suspended in a strange place I hadn't been in a long time...fully focused...yet completely empty-minded at the same time. For a moment, I thought, this is it---I'm FLYING!!! Then Steve's instructions kicked in: no 180s, only 90-degree turns. Fly straight, stabilize, then bump a gentle turn to the left...center...and bump another gentle turn to the left and head back over the runway. I did it all as if programmed.

I was gleeful at how responsive the glider was. The tiniest weight-shift, and the wing gently rolled into a turn. The Falcon may be low-performance, but for me last night it was the most amazing, high-performance wing in the world! I forced myself to relax completely, then began carving some gentle turns back and forth over the end of the runway. Each time I got a bit far over either side, I reminded myself not to get low over the corn, and flew back over the runway.

A few more gentle turns, and then I decided it was time to line up for my approach and landing. It was so calm Steve said not even to think about wind direction---just line up and land. It had been a long time since I did a no-wind landing on scooter tow, and as a result, my ground speed on approach was much faster than I'm accustomed to. As a result, my airspeed was low because, as I rushed toward the earth, I didn't think to pull in for speed.

Suddenly, the ground was right under me. I popped my feet out of the unzipped pod and tried to go upright, but it was too little, too late. As I was climbing up the downtubes, I bellied into the grass. Steve was right behind me in the truck. He quickly pointed out my speed was way slow on approach and I didn't even go fully upright. I was frustrated at my crappy landing, but exhilarated at the same time. After a quick debriefing, Steve and I lifted the glider back onto the truck for a second flight.

My second flight was more relaxed, and I climbed a bit higher. Once again, an effortless tow, smooth release, and a beautiful time flying turns over the runway. I pulled in more on my second approach, but still didn't get upright enough. Both Steve and I knew my landings are generally solid, so my problem wasn't a mechanical one so much as me just not thinking. As we climbed back on to the truck for a third and final flight, Steve chanted "You WILL land on your feet. You WILL land on your feet."

On my third approach, I lowered my feet earlier (though I still have no idea how high I was) and went fully upright, with hands on the basetube. (Steve had said something about twice the height of the trees---but it never occurred to me to even glance at the treetops to check!) I pulled in for good speed, rounded out nicely, transitioned to the downtubes and flared. It wasn't perfect, maybe a 3-4 stepper, but I was happy I'd ended with a good landing!

As we drove back to the pavilion, I felt victorious. I'd done it! I was now a "Member of the Club!" (The "Higher-than-50-Feet" club, that is.) I was happy with how I'd done. All the lessons, all the skinned knees, all the waiting for a year---it was worth every minute and every penny.

There was a large crowd of pilots (all friends) at the pavilion cheering my flights. Lots of thumbs-up and high-fives. What a feeling!

In closing, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to John Middleton, Steve Wendt, Tex Forrest, all the pilots who've provided advice and encouragement throughout my training...and the biggest thanks of all to Holly Korzilius. You've been right there for me throughout and helped me in a hundred ways. I love you!

Now all I can say is...I WANT MORE!!! It's a big step, but I know there are many more to come...thermaling, aerotowing, and what I'm still looking forward to more than anything (and the reason I got into hang gliding): my first mountain flight!

Scott Wilkinson

PS - you can check out some photos of my first flight here:
http://www.shadepine.com/firstflight/firstflight_01.html

PPS - Thanks for the post-flight beer Bill---it was the best beer I've had in a long time! (I don't even remember what heck it was!)

Got a personal best 41 miles in 3hrs 45min. Max alt around 5700 Released from tow at 1:25 and landed at 5:10 just past Milsboro, DE. My first XC flight since Sept of '02. Was very glad to have the third layer and gloves that I was lacking the weekend before.

Windsor wrapped me up in a boomer and got me to 2500 in record time...yes maybe I should have pinned off a lot sooner but what the hell. Got to 4300 and headed across the river.

The winds aloft were very light and the drift seemed E to ESE...I had intended to go south. Lift was strong and abundant though I did find myself diverting around small blue holes here and there. I was wary of getting low and tended to top off the tank early and often which slowed me up quite a bit...my glides were short. I felt like a wimp stopping to climb when already as high as 4k, but I just did not feel like scraping...did get down below 2K once and didn't like it. Climbs were usually in the 200-400fpm range though I did see 620 on the 20sec averager - just for a couple 360's.

Saw the shore in the distance and decided to try heading more south so I started hopping streets moving more south...hard to say really, if that's what I was doing the streets weren't very widely spaced. Between Georgetown and Milsboro I hit the convergence and was able to glide due south while maintaining or climbing some...though I guess it was a net loss. Tried to stop and thermal but couldn't really seem to make it happen. I may have been able to go quite a way like that I'm not sure.

But there was increased turbulence and I became nervous about wind direction on landing. So rather than push on past Milsboro (I had the Sea Colony condos at Bethany in my sights...quite a ways off) I started looking for surface wind indicators and trying to feel for my drift as I decended from 2500 with plenty of LZ options. Long and short - I could not tell. Had PLENTY of time to use all the down wind avoidence techniqes discussed last week on the list, and I tried but had no success. So I quickly began rehersing the also mentioned result minimization techniques as a last recourse.

Used them to decent effect and ended up in a cross with some tail in it. Unhappy to find the scrub in the field I'd chosen was higher than anticipated - mid thigh...the previous list discustion on that topic helped as well.

Note to self, next time just plan to apologize profusely to the farmner for landing in his freshly planted ankle high crop...Gave a false flair to test my pop up potential then with Kinsley's voice in my ear I hucked it for all I was worth. Got my feet down but fell forward and let go at the last moment...

fyi for the uninitiated who plan to let go at the last second...the last second only takes a tenth of a second with any downwind component...the way it seemed anyway. No harm no foul...one downtube.

Stood up and immediately saw two good sized American flags flying in two driveways within 50 yrds of me. Drving out of town I saw MANY flags and wind indicators of varioius types.

I'm definitely going to get some kind of dropable dowel with two colored streamer...

fly safe,

John

Beautiful day at Pulpit yesterday. I launched fairly early in the day and had a 12 min flight to the secondary. Gained about 200 feet over launch, but quickly lost that. Went on final high, and found myself jetting downhill about 3 feet off the ground. Finally saw that either I flare early or run into the fence. Flared at the last second, popped up... Whack! Should of held the flare out. Really enjoyed the flight overall. Thanks to all who helped me launch.

Bunch of pictures at
http://nostepper.com/modules/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=Pulpit06-20-2004

Alek

Had a good teaching day at Kirshners on Sunday and all my students had a fun day. Winds crossed at times but we got periods where the direction was pretty good. Parts of the landing area are very soggy, wet, and muddy. Stopped by the Pulpit on the way home and got to see Ellis take off in her PG and immediately climb out, and passing by the school heading for Mercersburg saw someone breaking there HG down. Nice weekend for me getting to fly Woodstock on Saturday and having a good teaching day on Sunday.

- john middleton

No only that, Alek made it possible I take a second flight as well.

Interesting on my first flight once we decided that the primary was not an option, we all headed to the secondary. At that time the wind was consistenly crossing from the north, except as I was getting closer to the secondary I saw clear indication from Joe B on the ground that it was completely the opposite. As I flew over it stayed that way. I few seconds after landing the direction was from the south.

Carlos

Thanks to the kick in the butt from Jim...here's the scoop on Sunday at Ridgely: As predicted by the soundings & Dr. Jack, lift was strong & almost everywhere. About 10 pilots enjoyed the great conditions. Jason was the first to test the air at about 1pm. When he didn't come down, I was next in line. Unfortunately my skills only kept me up for 25min. By the time I came down, everyone else was up & stayed there with most going XC. My second tow got me an hour...man it was tough staying down to the tugs level on tow. I made it to 4k & later heard that above 4k allowed you to go anywhere without sinking. As worn out as my arms were I decided to go for one more. Couldn't get above 3k this time so I tried finding stringer lift else where & ended up at 600 so I landed. Still another 25min. ain't bad. I left at 6:30 and never did see anyone come back from XC except Charles who did an out & back in 2.5 hrs. Out & back from where? I don't remember. Any of the XCs want to fill in the rest?

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-- Pat F.

Ok, Pat shamed me into it. Here is my story from Sunday. I had a great tow. Like Pat said, it was hard to keep down with the tug. It was especially hard since Sunny was really cranking and banking. I saw 1500 up at times..

I got off tow and just kept turning right to 4333 above the field. I knew I was heading our right away so I announced it on the radio. Of course I didn't get anything for a long time and the drift was very slow. I had just crossed the river and the power lines when I spotted PK thermalling up in front of me. I headed for him and on my over at a 1000 feet I got a great one. He came back and we took a ride together. He had been struggling for almost a half an hour in that spot. We were in radio contact and he asked me where I was and I told him 300 feet on top of him. Later I gained a bit and I was 600 feet over him. Life was good..

We topped out and headed down wind. For a while it was very strong topping out around 5800 and porpoise flying towards the coast. We kept separated and spotted lift for each other for the next hour or so and kept high going from cloud to cloud..

When we got within 5 or 10 miles from the water the clouds stopped and we headed in different directions. I landed a few miles short of the water (26 from Ridgely) and PK flew 5 miles south of me. Ed came to get us and we got back to the field around 7:30.

Great day.

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This page last updated June 23, 2004